Mechanical toy



April 13, 1937. D. s KEISER 2,077,327

MECHANICAL TOY Filed March 20, 1956 y kds .Qmrngs Wax W Patented Apr. 13, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates primarily to improvements in mechanical toys, but in a broader respect may find useful application as a means for actuating mechanical elements of various 5 characters from a remote point.

An immediate object of the invention is to provide a mechanical toy of novel characteristics wherein provision is made for actuating the moving elements of the toy from a remote position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanical toy having novel actuating means through which the operation of the toy may be accurately controlled and regulated to afford a variety of different effects.

In the attached drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a toy made in accordance with my invention, and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in perspective illustrating the details of construction.

With reference to Fig. 1 of the drawing, the toy therein illustrated comprises a base member I, to the upper surface of which is secured one end of a leaf spring 2, the other end of which is secured to and supports a beam 3. In a preferred arrangement of these parts, the leaf spring 2 is secured toward one end of the base I, eX- tends upwardly from this point of attachment toward the other end of the base member, and

is secured to the under side of the beam 3 at a point toward one end of the latter. In this preferred embodiment also, the spring 2 is of sufficient strength to support the beam 3 in a position, as shown in Fig. l, substantially parallel 3,3 to the base member. As illustrated, the beam 3 constitutes a support for the two figures 4, l, which are mounted respectively at the opposite ends of the beam.

In the restricted space between the lower por- 0 tion of the spring 2 and the upper surface of the base i is interposed a sack 5 made, in the present instance, of thin resilient rubber, and this sack is connected through a tube 6, also preferably of rubber and of any desired length, with a rubber bulb i. In the present instance, the sack 5 is held in position indirectly by means of staples 8 which secure the adjoining portion of the tube- 5 to the base I. Normally the sack 5 is deflated, but when the bulb l is collapsed by pressure, the contained air or other fluid forced through the tube 6 inflates the sack, which thereby is caused to exert a pressure tending to elevate the spring 2 toward the position in which it is shown in broken lines. This elevation of the spring 2 also tends to tilt the beam 3 from its normal horizontal position toward the inclined position shown in broken lines. Subsequent deflation of the sack 5 by release and self-expansion of the bulb permits the spring 2 and the beam 3 to return toward their normal positions, but by reason of the inertia of the sprung parts, the spring will tend to move downwardly past the normal position, with a result that the beam 3 will be tilted in the opposite direction. Periodic inflation and deflation of the sack 5 in timed relation to the movement set up in the spring 2 and beam 3 will cause an oscillation of the beam closely simulating a seesaw action. This seesaw motion may be maintained indefinitely by operation of the sack 5 in synchronism with the spring motion, and the amplitude of the motion may be accurately controlled by the extent to which the sack 5 is inflated.

Through the medium of the sack 5 and asso ciated elements, the movement of the beam 3 may be considerably varied. It is possible, for example, by a very rapid inflation and deflation of the sack 5 through the medium of the bulb I to effect a straight up and down movement of the beam 3 wherein the beam retains substantially its normal parallel relation to the base I. The periodic movement of the beam 3 may also be dampened or interrupted and the beam brought to rest by inflating the sack 5 in opposition to the downward movement of the spring 2. The device, therefore, affords a highly flexible and regulatable means for variably actuating the beam 3, and possesses the variety of operation required for sustained interest.

It will be understood that the invention may be applied to the actuation of many different characters of mechanical elements and that the invention is not limited to the device herein specifically illustrated and described as a disclosure of the principle involved. It will be understood further, while I prefer to employ air as the sack-inflating medium, that other gaseous or liquid mediums may be employed, and that the term inflation is intended to embrace the use of any suitable fluid medium.

I claim:

1. In a mechanical device, the combination with a resiliently mounted member, of a spring constituting the resilient mount for said member, and means for actuating the spring to effect a regulated movement of said member, said means comprising an inflatable sack adapted when inflated to exert pressure upon the spring tending to displace the spring from a normal position, and a rubber bulb for inflating and deflating said sack,

said bulb having a capacity materially in excess of the capacity of the sack.

2. In a mechanical device, the combination with a resiliently mounted member, of a spring constituting the resilient mount for said member, and means for actuating the spring to effect a regulated movement of said member, said means comprising an inflatable sack adapted when infiated to exert pressure upon the spring tending to displace the spring from a normal position, a rubber bulb having a capacity materially in excess of the capacity of said sack, and a tube connecting said bulb to the sack, said tube and bulb constituting a means for inflating and deflating said sack from a position remote to the latter.

3. In a mechanical device, the combination with a beam member, of a base member, a leaf spring extending upwardly at an inclination from said base and having its upper end secured to 20 the beam at a point removed from the longitudicenter of the beam toward one end of the latter,

an inflatable sack interposed between the base and the spring and adapted when inflated to displace the spring from a normal position, and manually operative means for inflating and deflating said sack, said displacement of the spring efiecting a seesaw movement of the beam variable by regulation of said manual means.

DAVID S. KEISER. 

